Who is Most Responsible for the Injustices?

Fifty years ago today Malcolm X was murdered.

He speaks here about a governmental system which allows people to organize for self-defense...

Humpday Humor: Stand Your Ground

Comedian Jeff Garlin talks about the stand your ground law in Florida.

  

Guns Behave Themselves in Iowa and North Dakota

Firearms ownership in the state of Iowa is the 16th highest rate in these United States.  Fortunately the guns don't act out in The Hawkeye State.  Iowa has the 9th lowest death rate by firearms of the fifty states.

Minnesota is another state where the guns don't usually try to hurt people.  The Gopher State ranks 21st in gun ownership yet it's 43rd in deaths caused by guns.

Unfortunately the firearms in Nevada and Arizona go awry more often.  These states have low rates of gun ownership yet their murder by gun rates are very high (5th and 6th respectively).

Finally, responsible gun owners abound in North Dakota.  The Peace Garden State is aptly named as they boast the 10th highest rate of guns and the 10th lowest gun death rate.

Guns Are Well Behaved in Switzerland

So how do other advanced countries deal with high rates of firearm ownership by citizens?  Ironically Bloomberg of all places gave us a little insight.   

From Bloomberg: Shooter Kills Three Women in Swiss Mountain Village Spree

Of course this is a tragedy but read down to the final three paragraphs of the story...

"There were 241 deaths in Switzerland by shooting in 2010, compared with 408 in 2001, Ninety-two percent of those deaths in 2010 were suicides."

Murder is declining steadily in Switzerland, and...

"In February 2011, Swiss voters rejected in a referendum a proposal to ban citizens from keeping guns at home and require all guns to be registered."

To sum up the situation in Switzerland, a country of 8 million people:

1. 3,610,300 guns owned by citizens
2. 20 murders by shooting in 2010

To sum up the situation in New York, NY, a city of 8 million people:

1. 57,300 guns owned by citizens
2. 237 murders by shooting in 2012

There are 63X as many firearms in Switzerland as in New York City yet gun murders are 12X higher in NYC than in Switzerland.  

Why do the guns in North America have to cause so much trouble when their cousins in Europe mostly keep to themselves?  

 

Teachers Will Be Carrying Guns to School...

Add this to the long list of important civil rights issues that the U.S. is falling behind the rest of the world, the security of teachers and students in government detention centers schools.   Shooters may think twice before entering a school building in Thailand.  Here is the story about the recent fatal school shootings from the Bangkok Post:

"Over the past few months, teachers have been singled out for attacks by insurgents, with five teachers shot in less than a month, four of them fatally."

In response to this security breach in government schools the NSC responded, see this from the Post:

"National Security Council secretary-general Lt Gen Paradorn Patthanathabutr said the council could hand out bulletproof vests to teachers straight away.

Mr Sermsak added that each of the three southernmost provinces had been granted the authority to consider issuing gun licences to teachers so that they may legally carry them in public.

The strengthened security measures have improved morale among southern teachers, Mr Sermsak said."

Teachers the world over (especially those employed by the State) should follow in Thailand's footsteps and move to protect students in the classroom.